1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a barrier device for protecting exposed structural surfaces from the inadvertent contact and possible deformation by furniture, equipment, construction materials and the like being moved.
2. Description of Related Art
The relocation industry employs numerous devices and methods in order to provide the quickest, safest and most inexpensive move possible for their clients. Moving companies and related industries constantly develop, test and refine innovative products so that such a move is possible. For example, moving companies often utilize lifting devices that are easily movable through constricted spaces, such as door frames. These lifting devices can safely secure a heavy load and allow just a single man to navigate the load in and out of buildings. These devices also reduce the risk of injury to movers.
A typical office mover employs several individuals, most of whom are loading and unloading furniture on and off of moving equipment or moving the furniture by hand. The moving equipment typically is pushed or pulled through the office, through the office doors, into an elevator, out of the elevator, and through the building's front doors. This procedure is repeated, in reverse, to move the furniture into the new office space. Throughout this moving process, edges and comers of, for example, a hand truck or the furniture can inadvertently come in contact with walls, doors and jambs, not only damaging the moving equipment and furniture, but also the wall, door and jamb surfaces.
Similar to the moving process above, customized construction in an office space can pose a similar risk to both the moving equipment and building materials, and the surfaces of the building's walls, doors and jambs. The expense of repairing damaged walls, doors and door jambs typically falls upon the building owner, the landlord or building management. Thus, movers and contractors rarely bring to the site protective pads to place between the moving loads and the exposed surfaces. Even so, movers and contractors want to minimize such damage to buildings to maintain a quality reputation. Thus, movers and contractors utilize moving equipment designed to avoid this type of damage.
One such product is the Spider Crane.RTM. used by Office Moving Systems of Atlanta, Georgia. The Spider Crane.RTM. lifts full lateral files with suction high enough to roll a specially designed steel dolly underneath the files. While the cabinet is held safely suspended, a member of the moving crew slides the steel dolly underneath the cabinet which is then gently lowered. This type of device not only reduces injuries, but also enables the client to minimize down time since the Spider Crane.RTM. lifts a full file cabinet. Thus, the client need not unload the cabinets and pack the files in boxes. The proper use of this type of device also reduces the expense to the moving company of patching and painting walls damaged by moving the cabinets through the office versus when cabinets are moved in more traditional ways, such as by a two-wheel dolly or hand truck, where there is less control over the cabinets while they are moved in and out of buildings.
Even with the best of care, there is always the risk of damage to property during the moving process. Damage is not confined to the items and products being moved, but can also be sustained by the office or residential structure itself which can be banged, dinged or scratched by the items or the moving equipment such as dollies and hand trucks. The transportation of construction materials through a building passageway also can cause damage, specifically damaging areas of narrowing in the passageway, which are typically at doorways and elevators. An inadvertent scrape can damage the paint, wallpaper and other building surface material.
Barrier-type protection is known for use inside an elevator during a move or construction project. It is common to find hanging mats in the service elevators of many buildings. These hanging mats provide protection to the interior panels of the elevators, which are subjected to the ingress and egress of construction materials and furniture. Not only are the interior panels of a service elevator subjected to scratches and dents, but so are the hallway walls in proximity to the elevator doors, and the entrance doors of the office or residence that typically are propped opened for the movement of such items. Yet these hanging mats are limited for use inside the elevator and are of little use in doorways. Generally, the interior of an elevator is designed with hanging attachments extending from the tops of the interior panels upon which the mats are hung. Such hanging attachments are not incorporated in the construction of, for example, the glass doors of a building's entrance, nor in the design of the jamb panels and hallway walls immediately exterior of the elevator doors. So protecting doors, jamb panels and hallway walls with the hanging mats would require invasive construction of hanging attachments.
There are devices known to provide barrier-type protection between products that have a tendency to jostle together during shipment and transportation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,564 to Howlett, Jr. discloses an inflatable air bag to buffer, support, or stabilize cargo loads within transport vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,438 to Goshorn et al., discloses an inflatable dunnage bag having an average burst strength of 27 psig. U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,509 to Enzu discloses an absorber inserted into furniture to temporarily secure goods stored in the furniture. when the furniture is transported. The absorber or fastening pad comprises a flat sealed bag having sides of absorbing members.
While it is known to use dunnage bags between items to protect them from the rigors of shipment, none of the art teaches a method of using, or a device incorporating, an equally easy to use and low cost device that can protect building surfaces from damage from furniture or construction materials moved into and out of the building through the building's doors and elevators. Therefore it can be seen that there is a need in the art for a lightweight, easily constructed, inexpensive, noninvasive and portable barrier-type device that can protect such building surfaces.